Day Six Update

Over the weekend my mom

help me candle my Barred Holland eggs.

It was very exciting to see how the peeps were

doing inside their shells.

I have a special light that I use to candle the eggs.

It is very bright, but lets off "cool" light so the peeps

are not hurt.  I carefully take one egg at a time

from the incubator and hold the light to the bottom

of the egg.  My mom helps me with this and we 

wait until night time when it is dark.

I have seven eggs in my incubator.  When you have 

eggs shipped through the mail, you have to 

understand that not ALL of the eggs are going to hatch.

It is rough on the eggs bouncing around in the mail 

with the different air temps. and pressures.

I only hatched out three Buff Orpingtons 

for my first hatch.   

But that is why you candle the eggs, to see how they are doing.

So far, only one is looks like it did not develop at all.  

I have included pics. from online of egg candling. One of a 

good egg at six days and one of a bad egg at six days.

This is a Good Egg --see the veins and
the Peep?

This is a Bad Egg--No Veins..No Peep

Holland Eggs in Incubator

Ok the eggs are in the incubator.

The count down has begun.

My mom will help me candle them Friday 

evening which will make day five.

I will do an update to let you know how they are 

coming along.

I have a Brinsea seven egg Incubator

It provides the perfect place for the growing chick inside the egg

Barred Holland eggs are white.  That is a determining factor of whether they meet the
"Standard" or not.  The "Standard" for all regconized  breeds can
be found in the Standard of Perfection Book   which is
like a chicken breeders (especially if you show chickens) bible.

I have more tid- bits of interest about the Holland breed, but
 I will share it little at a time.
So stay tuned.

Barred Hollands

I went to "Show" for the first time this year with 4-H.

It was fun and I really did learned so much.

But I realized as I looked through this book (The Standard of Perfection)

that many of the breeds were not being shown.

Then as I my mom and I really started looking online we realized that most 

people like to show popular breeds and the other ones are dying out.

We started looking at the critical list (chickens with less than a thousand nation wide).

And....We found "The Holland"

Holland Chicken

In 1934 white eggs brought premium prices at market because it was believed that white eggs had a finer, more delicate flavor. At that time most of America’s eggs were produced on small farms all across the country, and small farmers preferred dual-purpose chickens as these provide a source of meat as well as eggs. Since dual-purpose chicken breeds tend to lay brown eggs, and white egg-laying breeds available at the time were light-weight and not well fleshed, this prompted Rutgers Breeding Farms to set about producing a dual-purpose breed that would lay white eggs – resulting in the Holland.
You may wonder why an American breed of chicken is called “Holland.” The answer lies in the ancestry of the breed. Breeders began with light-weight stock originally imported from Holland, and mated it with White Leghorn, Rhode Island Red, New Hampshire, and Lamona. Through careful selection the White Holland was created. Simultaneously, the Barred Holland was created by mating White Leghorn, Barred Plymouth Rock, Australorp, and Brown Leghorn. The breed was admitted to the American Poultry Association Standard of Perfection in 1949.
Hollands have earned a good reputation as being ideally suited to farm conditions. They are good foragers with calm temperaments. The breed is fairly cold tolerant, though during periods of extreme cold the males may suffer some frostbite to their single combs. The hens can become broody and will sometimes raise their own offspring. Hollands also tend to have a slow to moderate growth rate. But this fact must be weighed against their ability to rustle a significant portion of their own food.
In its time, the Barred Holland was much more popular with the farmers than was the White Holland. This may have been because of the popularity of the Barred Plymouth Rock, or it may have been for the practical reason that a chicken with a pattern is less likely to suffer predation than a white chicken. The less popular White Holland may well be extinct now.
While the Holland has never enjoyed widespread popularity, it is an excellent choice for homesteaders or use on small acreages. These chickens have yellow skin and legs, so will produce a carcass with the skin color most Americans favor. The Holland will produce plenty of medium-large white eggs, and one can enjoy the fact that they are helping to conserve what is likely the rarest, living breed of American chicken.


My first batch of Hollands came two weeks ago from a breeder in New York.
I have eggs coming this week from Sue at the  Pocket Farmer  and
they will go into the incubator this weekend.  In 21 days I will
 hopefully hatch my second group of Hollands.

The Buffs Begin

Rosie was my first Buff Orpington. 

She has a Fluffy back side and a wonderful chicken-ality.

She is very sweet and fat....and Arthur R E A L L Y   likes her,

so much so that I had to have my mom make her an apron to wear.

But....Rosie was a lone Buff Orpington in my flock, standing there all

 gold and fluffy.  She needed to have her numbers multiplied.

With my mom and dad's help, I was able to buy a Brinsea Incubator, purchase 

some fertile eggs from a breeder.

My first hatching was this past Friday April  12, 2013. 

Three fluffy Buff Orpingtons Hatched.  

Not a big hatch I know. My incubator holds seven eggs and I knew 

that not all of them would hatch.  Shipping the eggs lowers the hatch rate, I have 

heard.  I let them rest for 18 hrs. according to the Brinsea directions.  

I think maybe I should have let them rest for 24 - 48 hrs.  

This week, Ms. Sue from The Pocket Farmer  is sending me Barred Holland eggs.

This will be my second hatch. I received my first batch of Barred Holland Biddies two weeks

ago and that began my Holland Project.
More to come on that.

Buff Orpington Egg

First to Pip Through

Here She Comes!

What a Beauty!

Fluffy and Perfect!
Rosie will be so excited!

My Journey Starts

The first Chicken House!

My dad took an old play house and converted it into a chicken house for my first flock.  Arthur (my New Hampshire) and the girls, just love it.

Arthur is a great Roo. He takes his job very seriously.  I did learn something very important about Arthur during
 the 4-H shows.

He does not like being away from his "girls".  He was so unhappy. 

When we got home from show, he didn't want anyone to come near him or the girls for a couple of days.  He settled down.  

We will not put him through that again.
I love my chickens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Arthur